


Wise Man

by Innocentfighter



Series: "Do not go gentle into that good night" verse [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Character Death, Character Study, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Infinity Gems, Introspection, Not A Fix-It, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Spoilers, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 11:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14496207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocentfighter/pseuds/Innocentfighter
Summary: INFINITY WARS SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISKDoctor Strange knows how things are going to turn out. He hates that he knows but doesn't hate that he'll follow through.





	Wise Man

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I thought to myself, why not make everything worse because Infinity Wars wasn't bad enough, and also I'm in a super big poetry kick we've got some thematic overtures thanks to "Do not go gentle." Have fun kids.  
> It should be noted that only certain parts of this do I believe are possible in part II.  
> Don't own the characters, and the poem is done by Dylan Thomas!

> _Though **wise men** at their end know dark is right,_  
>  _Because their words had forked no lightning they_  
>  _Do not go gentle into that good night._

* * *

 

Strange doesn’t think it’s fair. In the cosmic sense it’s more than a fair trade; a handful of lives for a half of, the whole, universe. As oath-bound, as he is, he knows what choice he must make. As Stephen Strange, the person, he thinks it isn’t fair that their Victory hinges on Tony Stark.

Tony Stark who exchanged everything for nothing to start being good. His good is hoarded by people with bloodlust in their veins, his good is questioned by everyone. Strange doesn’t know Stark but he’s seen doctor’s push and push for trials of medicines that could save or change lives. He thinks maybe it’s the same: the denial of risk for the comfort of stagnation.

It’s unfair that the universe demands blood for balance and Strange despairs in the irony that Thanos was right.

Over 14 million futures, over 14 million losses. The one constant was Stark, the longer he lived and the more he lost the better they did. Stark falling on the knife wrought in desperation. He would save them.

Strange doesn’t want to cause harm, while he was selective about who he treated, he had never broken his oath to preserve and save a life. Fighting makes him ill, but the world is more important, always will be. This is for survival, but he’ll cause Stark irreparable mental harm, but Stark will be dead and Strange wouldn’t be. Stark would never know of this conscious choice.

This was the part he hated, but at the same time, he knew the dark road Stark would go down if left alive after losing everything but beating Thanos. Geniuses with nothing left to guide- geniuses like Stark who let his heart be on his sleeve but not seen- would do what they consider right, the coast is their morals. Strange didn’t lie when he said there was only one timeline in which they won, but there were five times they defeated Thanos. Four couldn’t be counted as victories.

Stark gets stabbed, this is the crucial point, his next choice will advance all possibilities into motion. Win or lose this was his gamble.

“I’ll give you the stone if you let him go,” Strange is specific, Tony must be the one alive, this is his bargain he couldn’t haggle over the others.

He looks at Tony, who is horrified. Strange doesn’t think that he’s not reacting to the idea of him over half the universe. The truth is opposite, but it stings. Tony doesn’t think he should be saved. He wouldn’t be, but for now, he needed to be.

“It’s the only way.”

He prays this works.

* * *

 

Strange hates that it works. Doesn’t hate the fact most are alive and Thanos is gone. Every war has casualties. The guardians crowd around Peter (their Peter), he can’t be saved Earth can’t regrow organs. Gamora cries because she’s only back because Peter ripped the soul stone from Thanos’ gauntlet and made the sacrifice.

Black Widow does her best to resuscitate Hawkeye, who had cracked the time stone, dislodged it, and brought back those who were dusted (Strange wondered why they were here and not the graveyards they died in). Strange knows with a clinical detachment that the archer is beyond saving, a spinal cord sever between C1 and C2 was almost always fatal (considering his neck had been snapped by the reality stone, he doubted Hawkeye would have survived any severe). He can’t fix that but he can live knowing that Hawkeye didn’t suffer and knew he wasn’t alone.

Unlike Tony, he’d held Thanos in place long enough for Hawkeye and Peter to get the stones out. In a rage, Thanos had lifted him by his head and tossed him to the side.

Tony didn’t know that everyone – his kid included –  was alive. Strange could only guess what Tony knew before he died. In this future, the future he saw, when Thanos grabbed Tony’s skull he crushed it.

Ironman had been dead before he hit the ground, Tony had been dead since Titan, and ten minutes after the fight nobody had asked for him.

“Where’s Tony?” The other Ironman, Rhodes(?), asked one arm around Sam.

 _Finally, finally._ Strange thought.

“I thought I saw him land over here!” Peter – the kid – yelled, Strange wonders about the adult.

Several Avengers ran after the boy, surprisingly Captain America ran over to Tony’s side. Something had been repaired between them. Thor and Hulk looked torn as to which fallen friend they should go to. Strange had seen it all before, but it hurt more now. Now that it was set in stone.

Wong came to a stop beside him, “you saw this.”

He couldn’t answer as Peter’s yell cut through the silence, “Mr. Stark?”

"No, no, no.”

Strange tried to distance himself from their grief. What right did he have to mourn a man he saved only so he could die later? What right did he have to mourn when he condemned a man to die alone? What right did he have to mourn when he let a man die just for a _chance_ to kill Thanos.

Tony died not knowing if it was all in vain.

Thank the universe Thor aimed for the head.

“There was only one way,” he says finally, clinically.

  _I’m sorry but your loved one died on the table, there was nothing we could do._

_I’m sorry but we can’t fund your research._

“We should be grateful we had this one future,” Wong says.

Strange thinks about the poem he read in college, _do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

This was their future, holes in their heart and rage against the light dying. He had done his duty to protect this reality. Stark didn’t go gentle, but that wasn’t a comfort. In another reality, their victory wasn’t pyrrhic.

“We have won the day,” Wong’s voice is heavy.

“At what cost?” Strange counters.

Wong shrugs again, Strange can tell he’s moved by the loss of Tony. No paragon can fall and not leave ripples in their wake. Tony may not have been the world’s first hero, but he gave the world hope and heroes again. He was hated but he never stopped trying to be good.

Maybe it wasn’t fair that Tony was the keystone to their Victory but it made sense. Strange hated that it did.

“It was enough,” Wong replied, “tolls so high are rarely paid in full.”

 _Though wise men at their end know dark is right,_ he thought, _did you rage Tony?_

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> This is going to be a four-part series, I already have three written and a small part of four written, but I have 7 pages of an actual essay to write because I'm awful, so the rest will be posted as I get time this week! Thanks for reading, and leave your thoughts below.


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